2025 has come to a close, but before looking ahead to thirty years ago at Disneyland in 1996, let’s check out something we have so far missed from 1995: the Annual Pass and a Guide Map.
The 1995 Annual Pass was a much slicker card than the hand-laminated passes that had been in use halfway through the Disney Decade. Lighter weight and looking very much like a modern credit card, the ’95 AP featured custom artwork of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Instead, a “passport” style photo was utilized, creating a laminated bump on the front of the card, and a digital scan identified each guest. I likely would have paid more attention to the photo if I had known it would be in use over the next three years.
This particular card has a few notations that define the price. It is a Premium Annual Passport, and it includes Preferred Parking.
The Annual Passports were heavily promoted in a full panel inside the guide map. Lest you think I overspent, I did get a discount as a member of the Magic Kingdom Club. Still… it wasn’t cheap. The cost for that year of blackout-free admission AND parking set me back a cool $119.
Another big change in 1995 was the size and format of the guide map. You may recall that the last time we looked at one of these was in the August, 2024 column. That booklet weighed in at a hefty 36 pages and was typically accompanied by a day schedule that was issued weekly.
Somewhere in 1994, someone came up with the bright idea of combining all of this into a single document. By 1995, the booklets were no more, and guests were contending with just ten pages (front and back) that folded out into one big map.
Folded out completely, the 1995 guide map was bigger than its predecessor, but it was definitely a much poorer replacement in terms of information and collectibility. They were updated more frequently, but mostly for just the interior content. Once Indiana Jones and the Spirit of Pocahontas were featured on the cover, there were no appreciable changes.
There are some fun details to be found inside, particularly as the event-stuffed summer months waned into the leaner days of fall. The Aladdin’s Oasis restaurant (formerly dinner show) may have been no longer available, but guests were still invited to celebrate the park’s fortieth birthday every day at noon in front of the castle.
Another silver lining was the larger, complete park map inside the folded-out brochure. The graphic basis of the design made it very clear that the relatively new Mickey’s Toontown was definitely a park expansion.
While American Express had a relatively small display ad in each brochure, Kodak maintained its sponsored presence on the entire back panel. According to the text, it was possible to enjoy your pictures right away by asking for 2-hour processing at a Photo Express Center. Imagine that… looking at your photos the same day you took them! Things were looking forward, thirty years ago at Disneyland.
